Never could Zu An have imagined that Xie Daoyun would come up with the exact same poem as a certain talented woman from his previous world’s history. He suddenly felt as if he were trapped in a dream.
Just how was this world related to his previous world? What kind of relationship did the Xie Daoyun of this world have with that other Xie Daoyun?[1]
Even after thinking for a bit, he just couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking. After all, one had to live in the moment. At the very least, these people in front of him were still alive, so what was the point in thinking about all of that?
“Sir Zu, was my poem not good?” Xie Daoyun asked carefully when she noticed that he had been silent for a long time.
Xie Xiu became a bit unhappy. His big sister was normally quite proud of her achievements in the literary field, and yet she ended up doubting her own ability in front of Zu An first. As such, he said, “Big sister’s verse was many, many times better than mine.”
Xie Daoyun harrumphed. “Who wants to compare with you?”
Xie Xiu was speechless. He felt attacked. After all, this was his big sister…
Zu An snapped out of his daze and said, “Daoyun is too humble. Your verse was exceptional. I just happen to have a poem to present to you as a gift.”
“A gift for me?” Xie Daoyun blushed. Her heart was pounding, but she was also expectant as she said, “I’m listening carefully.”
Zu An looked at her beautiful and gentle features, then slowly said, “Breathtaking flowers cast their elegant reflections upon the waters. A pure heart, where can one find amid a world of fluttering snow?”
Xie Daoyun’s face immediately turned red. They were sitting by the lake right now, so the water surface reflected their faces. Is he praising me for being beautiful? And what’s going on with the latter half? Is he asking me where my affection belongs?
“Thank you, big brother Zu. I’ll find some paper and a pen to write it down right now.” She had no idea how to respond, so she decided to flee the scene first. Her heart was still pounding by the time she entered her room.
She fetched some pen and ink. Calligraphy was something she had been good at to begin with. Now, she was practicing how to draw talismans, so her skills had grown even further. Forget about a poem, she could even write out an entire essay quickly.
“How can he be like this? He already has a wife…” Xie Daoyun bit her lip. Her rising and falling chest showed that just then, she wasn’t calm at all.
Wait, Chu First Miss and Zu An seem to have already divorced each other. Doesn’t that mean that to a certain degree, he’s single? But the Chu clan’s relationship with him still appears to be extremely close…
The ink on the brush finally couldn’t take it anymore and dripped onto the paper.
Ahhhh! This is so annoying! Xie Xiu stared at Zu An in a stupor. If not for the fact that it was his own older sister, he would have given Zu An a huge thumbs up. As a veteran playboy, how could he not see the destructive power of this poem? Judging from his big sister’s hurried footsteps, he could tell she was really panicked. He asked in annoyance, “Brother Zu, do you really not have any older or younger sisters?”
Zu An shook his head and said, “Nope, I’m a single child.”
Xie Xiu could only complain about his misfortune. He really was losing out badly here… Hm? Wait, even though he doesn’t have a little sister, he has a wife! Doesn’t Chu First Miss have a little sister? But he immediately shivered when he remembered Chu Huanzhao’s Wailing Whip. He quickly threw away that thought.
“What are you two talking about?” Xie Daoyun asked, having just returned. Her expression was back to normal, with just a trace of redness remaining.
“It’s nothing,” Zu An said with a smile. Then, his attention shifted to the scroll in her hands. He asked, “Did you finish writing it? Let me take a look.” He took the white scroll from her hands and unfolded it. Then, he said with a sigh of admiration, “Daoyun, your calligraphy really is too beautiful.”
Xie Daoyun’s writing was graceful. Anyone who saw the characters would know that they were written by a sweet-tempered and refined beauty. Gao Ying’s calligraphy from before wasn’t bad, but it was quite lacking compared to hers.
“But of course! My big sister was really famous back when we were in Brightmoon City, you know? There were many people willing to pay good money for her to write something for them!” Xie Xiu bragged smugly. But he immediately felt regret after saying that. What the hell was he showing off for? The more he praised his big sister, the more it would make that guy like her!
“It’s not that exaggerated… Many of those people were only doing that to curry favor with our father.” Xie Daoyun said bashfully.
“Daoyun is too humble. All of us can see just how talented you are.” Zu An chuckled. “Right, didn’t I owe you a song? I thought of a suitable song just now.”
“Really?” Xie Daoyun was surprised and excited. She liked such things a lot. Furthermore, she could see that Zu An’s style was completely different from his previous songs… It made her even more curious.
“Why would I lie to you?” Zu An had been extremely curious about the song ‘Guangling San’ from ‘The Smiling Proud Wanderer’, so he had looked it up online. But unfortunately, he had only listened to it as a keyboard warrior; there was no way he could play it.[1]
There would have been no way he could remember the song score after all this time, but as his cultivation climbed, his memory grew stronger as well. He gradually remembered more things he had seen before.
Thus, he could give Xie Daoyun the song through the way music was recorded in this world. Xie Daoyun was itching to try it out, so she invited the two of them inside. After all, playing the zither was a graceful thing, so it wasn’t too proper to eat while playing it.
Xie Xiu had a gloomy look on his face. He gave the copper pot a reluctant look. I didn’t even finish eating yet… But he didn’t want to put a damper on his big sister’s mood, so he could only leave sulkily.
Xie Daoyun washed her hands first. Then, after drying them with a white cloth, she lit a bit of sandalwood incense before carefully taking out a zither. Her movements throughout the entire process were extremely graceful.
Zu An was really impressed. This is how you should do stuff like this!
Zither music filled the air. At first, it was still a bit underripe, but Xie Daoyun’s zither skills were quite excellent. She quickly immersed herself into the song. Xie Xiu wasn’t too into it at first, but his expression quickly changed. His mouth soon hung open wide.
Xie Daoyun’s chest rose and fell deeply. Her feelings were being completely swept away by the zither. She was completely focused.
Zu An was the calmest of them all. After all, he had heard the song before. Furthermore, he hadn’t heard too many zither songs, so he couldn’t really tell if it was good or bad. All of his attention was on Xie Daoyun’s chest. He wondered if her chest rested on the table when she was focused on drawing those talismans… Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a bit tiring?
The song finished, leaving the entire room completely silent. Xie Daoyun sat in place, in a stupor. She didn’t get up for a long time.
Zu An saw that the bit of hair on the back of her neck was standing up, and there were some teardrops in her eyes. He had to admit that she really was someone who loved the zither. She had actually been able to sympathize so much with the song.
A while later, Xie Daoyun finally looked at him and asked, “Big brother Zu, does this song have a name?”
“The song’s name is ‘Guangling San’.” Zu An felt a bit of regret after saying that. He should have changed the name, perhaps to ‘Zu An’s Present to Daoyun’, which would have earned him even more points with her.
“Guangling San…” Xie Daoyun silently stored the song’s name in her memory. “By the way, why do I sense grief and killing intent from this song?”
Zu An was stunned. Holy shit, you can even sense that?
He thought for a bit and explained, “This song actually tells a story. There was a warrior in ancient times whose cultivation was profound. He had a friend who showed him great favor. That friend was framed by a political enemy, and so he called for the warrior several times. Even though he didn’t say why, the warrior knew what his friend needed him for. Yet he never responded, and continued to remain at home to take care of his aged mother. Three years later, when his mother passed away, he then sought out that friend and agreed to help him with his revenge.
“As a result, he charged into that political opponent’s territory with only his sword to accompany him, and then killed that enemy despite the protection of endless guards. Unfortunately, by the time he completed his task, he was already surrounded by the soldiers who had come rushing to the scene. The warrior knew that there was no way for him to make it out alive, so he ended his own life. For fear that he would be recognized after he died and involve his older sister back home, he cut up his own face before he committed suicide.
“But then, later on, his older sister went on her own to receive his corpse. She wept because she knew why he had done what he did, yet how could she allow his name to be erased forever…”
Xie Daoyun’s eyes were brimming with tears when she heard the story. Xie Xiu’s eyes were red as well, but in order to stop himself from crying, he quickly said, “That man is a true hero! He was filial to his mother, waiting until she passed away before carrying out this task. He gave up his life for the sake of his friend, upholding justice.”
“I was more moved by his relationship with his sister.” Xie Daoyun said with a sigh. “That warrior cut up his own face so he wouldn’t drag down his older sister, and yet his older sister chose to give up her own life for the sake of his reputation. I’m filled with endless admiration just thinking about it.”
Xie Xiu slammed the table and exclaimed, “This kind of heroic figure really lived a glorious life! I wonder when I could…”
Xie Daoyun cut him off before he even finished his sentence. “I would rather you continue living like a playboy than be like him.”
Xie Xiu said with an awkward smile, “I was just saying stuff; I didn’t really mean it. Am I that kind of person?” Of course the waists of those young ladies are much more my style.
These stories were what they were. He wouldn’t do something like that even if he went mad.
1. 广陵散 are the Chinese characters of the song name. A quick Youtube search will bring up the song. ☜
1. The original creator of Xie Daoyun’s reply was someone with the same name from Zu An’s previous world. This interaction was where Zu An got the first half ‘Of what does the fluttering of snow resemble’ from. ☜
